Described as Cape Town’s most innovative choral collective, VOX Cape Town has fast established itself as a standout on the local music scene. Under the direction of Dr John Woodland VOX has continually impressed audiences both with its fresh approach to new and interesting repertoire, including commissioning several new works by local composers, and its approach to concert staging including lighting and visual effects. In VOX's own words, they “intend to invigorate local choral music through imaginative programming and staging to create intimate, immersive sensory experiences.”
On March 25 and April 6, VOX Cape Town will be performing a program of choral and piano works at St Andrews Presbyterian Church in Cape Town and the Norval Foundation in Steenberg respectively. The piano items will be played by Clinton Claasen. Ian Burgess-Simpson Pianos is delighted to partner with VOX and provide instruments for both performances. The Norval concert collaboration is particularly exciting as we will be sending our Fazioli F212 grand piano, its first official concert outing. Please support what will certainly be wonderful concerts and contact the Ian Burgess-Simpson piano team if you feel moved to acquire a piano.
Here's a full description of the upcoming performances:
VOX Cape Town will present a constellation of exquisite choral music written by five of the greatest living composers of our time. Expect to be spellbound as thirty voices weave a sublime sonic canvas amongst the artworks in Gallery 8 at the Norval Foundation.
The musical journey, which spans three continents, begins in the United States with the lush tone-clusters of Eric Whitacre (b. 1970) whose otherworldly, ambient harmonies are set against “pillow-soft dissonances”.
His music is contrasted with the repetitive minimalism of Philip Glass (b. 1937), whose settings of poems by Leonard Cohen, Raymond Lévesque and Octavio Paz are interspersed with four items of his piano music, including extracts from the award-winning film score for The Hours, played by Clinton Claasen.
Across the Atlantic, two young Norwegians, Ola Gjeilo (b. 1978) and Kim André Arnesen (b. 1980), provide a mesmerising soundscape inspired by the icy landscape of their homeland.
Finally, we return to the African veld to celebrate our collective heritage with vivid settings of two poems by the late South African writer, Stephen Watson. These Songs from the /Xam, composed by Peter Klatzow (b. 1945), remind us that “being part of the heavens, we belong to the sky”.
http://www.norvalfoundation.org/event/vox_choir/